Do we believe in the Assumption or Dormition of Mary?
By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10
In the Coptic Orthodox Church, we believe in both the Dormition and the Assumption of the Holy Body of the Mother of God, Saint Mary. These are two parts of the same miraculous event.
1. The Dormition
We believe that Saint Mary died a natural physical death. Unlike the Roman Catholic dogma of the "Immaculate Conception" (which suggests she was born without original sin and therefore might not have been subject to the penalty of death), the Coptic Orthodox Church is very straightforward: Saint Mary was a human being who inherited the fallen nature of Adam, though she was sanctified by the Holy Spirit at the moment of the Annunciation.
Therefore, she experienced a real death on the 21st of Tobe. Our Lord came to receive her pure soul personally. The Apostles shrouded her body and buried her in Gethsemane.
2. The Assumption (The Ascent of the Body)
We believe that her body did not remain in the grave to see corruption. On the third day after her burial, her body was assumed into heaven.
- The Witness of St. Thomas: According to our tradition, St. Thomas the Apostle was not present at her burial. As he was returning to Jerusalem on a cloud, he saw the Holy Body of the being carried by angels into heaven. He saw the angels crowning her.
- The Sash: To prove what he saw to the other Apostles, St. Thomas received the burial sash (the girdle) of the Virgin Mary from the angels.
- The Fast of the Virgin: When St. Thomas told the other Apostles, they desired to see this glory as well. They fasted for 15 days, at the end of which our Lord granted them a vision of Saint Mary sitting at the right hand of her Son in His kingdom. This is the origin of the Fast of the Virgin Mary, which we observe in August, culminating in the Feast of the Assumption on the 16th of Mesore.
3. Theological Significance
- Victory over Corruption: Her assumption is a "first fruit" of the general resurrection. Because she was the dwelling place of God, it was not fitting for the "living temple" to undergo decay in the earth.
- The "Golden-Mouthed" and Cyrillian View: As St. Cyril of Alexandria taught, the is the Ark of the Covenant. Just as the Ark was made of acacia wood that does not rot, her body was preserved from corruption and taken to the heavenly Jerusalem.
- Intercession: Her presence in heaven in both soul and body strengthens her role as the Queen who stands at the right hand of the King (Psalm 45).
4. Comparison with Other Denominations
- Protestants: Most Protestants reject the Assumption entirely because it is not explicitly detailed in the four Gospels. We view this as a suppression of the truth and a rejection of the Sacred Tradition that the Apostles delivered to the Church.
- Roman Catholics: While they believe in the Assumption, they defined it as a "dogma" only in 1950, whereas the Coptic Church has celebrated this feast since the earliest centuries. Furthermore, their view is often clouded by the error of the "Immaculate Conception," which we reject.
We believe she truly died (Dormition) and her body was truly taken up to heaven (Assumption). We honor her as the one who is "Higher than the Cherubim and more honorable than the Seraphim."
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(Holy Mary, Mother of God: pray for us.)